It was tradition, but not the best season for it. The box office provided the garbage heap of movies in the theater. There was a kiddie movie that might prove good - to rent. The rest were terrible horror movies, a sci-fi thriller he already had watched the week it came out and Mia insisted she didn't want to watch if he already watched (not that he wouldn't have minded watching it again), and a trashy comedy littered with sex jokes and crude male humor. Again, rent worthy maybe but not worth paying. Then again, in the end he was paying to spend around 2 hours in the dark to achieve a bit more legroom in their relationship. Some wiggle-space to inch closer her way, and considering he was lucky to get a girl who was in such pristine condition and who the rumor mill barely whispered about, he was willing to pay for her popcorn as well.

Brunette, though with frosted highlights. Never overdone with makeup to make her look overdone and make him feel lazy in his own appearance, but enough to show she took time to care about herself. Her eyebrows were always thin and nicely trimmed, as were her nails clean and always accented by some faint color that matched her clothes. She changed her clothes often, and while it often made her late, he appreciated how fresh she often looked, and he made the effort to wear the less comfortable side of his closet around her to gain more of the unexplained favor she seemed to have shown in him. It was strange that someone out of the Biology Department would bother with him, but college that that weird branching of friends and facebook nudging that got people together, and somehow in the crashing of planets, the college universe had tossed Mia his way -

- and now he was just waiting for some spiteful sun to destroy it all.

With drinks in hand, they had picked a Scream 3....or 4? Yeah, 4. He had only managed to watch the first one when it was shown on constant repeat a few summers back and hadn't been impressed. It wasn't his genre. Horror was often lacking to him, composed mainly of gore these days, and he usually felt a sick, twisting feeling in his gut when there were something more vivid than a human killer. If it went supernatural, he tended to sink in his seat. The shadows were bad enough. If his imagination was provided actual images and scenarios, his paranoia would only increase. It had been a while anyways, and he was thankful.

Picking a seat in the back, he placed his hoodie (it was more style than his more comfortable sweater), and used it to keep as much of himself from making actual contact to the chair cushion as possible. The idea of these chairs never being cleaned since opening day, subjected to messy popcorn eaters smearing their buttery, licked fingers, and who knows how many small children (if not adventurous couples) staining the cushions was more horrifying than anything the movie they were going to see could conjure.

Still, he relaxed, and allowed Mia to hold and eat the popcorn. He wouldn't be sharing, as he already told her in advance that he had just had lunch to cover up the fact he didn't want them to be eating from the same bag. For now, she was freshly pressed, with a faint smell of perfume and spring heat, brimming with health. Physical Therapy, she said, but she wanted to study Nutrition. She went to the campus gym often, and showered sometimes more than once in a day. In the stale stench of the movie theater, she was a small air freshener, and he leaned just so slightly to enjoy her.

The theater was barely halfway full, and they were left with the cushion of space around them, and the dark intimacy as the lights started to dim. The previews were rolling, and more people started to walk up the walk, and then the credits started. The music was recent, and he tried not to cringe. The lack of wooshing doors and the most modern technology being a Ipod in the movie was not something he was looking forward to, and instead he decided to keep awake enough to follow a discussion if she wanted one after, and instead let his knee press against hers in what he considered a smooth move. Thus far, their level of intimacy had been measured, and she didn't voice much in his progress. He held her hand, sat beside her, and sometimes set his arm about her back. Enough to show he was there, that he was present, and she was in some sense belonging to him as much as any college student who randomly hooked up could, but he saw potential in her. Possibility. An occasion to speak up when the boys in the dorm had yet another reason to talk about crazy nights, loose panties, and give gestured depictions of anatomy - though even that seemed a distant, boyish dream. Talking about what sparked the engines in his cold bowels was a bit too revealing.

Instead, he took shelty in their silence, and stole indecent thoughts by the second. Her lipgloss, never shared, making sure her lips were never cracked. Healthy. She took time to consider her completion, her appearance, her skin. He'd been in her room before. Hanging out, yet inspecting her when she was browsing on her laptop or went to the bathroom. Organized. Immaculate. Picking out the ingredients that made her qualified, like bullet points on a resume, and he he took marks off for bad behavior in red ink. She passed - more than any girl he knew or had known in some time, and most of all, she was beautiful.

Reaching out, he let his fingers crawl in the dark, and found her free hand, the one not eating popcorn, and he held it, only his glove separating the touch.

It was then that he heard the heavy grunting of someone cough close by, and cringing, he turned his head to look behind them - and just as the lights fully dimmed, he noticed that there was someone sitting directly behind them, and the shape of of a shadow sitting staring blanking ahead at the screen.

The theater went black, and the lights went out, and shooting his eyes to the screen, he found his breath caught.

"Melvin?"

His eyes darted to Mia, and he found himself pleading with his eyes, like a dog unable to communicate but wanting to tell it's owner that there was a gas leak in the kitchen that would blow them all sky high. She didn't understand Lassie, and he looked at her in the pulling reality that he was in this alone, and anything else was going to be judged. Through her eyes, he saw the reflection of normalcy and saw himself through her eyes, those perfectly-manicured eyebrows creasing with concern, and he noticed he was gripping her hand too tightly. "Sorry. I guess I'm jumpy."

She smiled. "The movie hasn't even started." A couple to their right hushed at their conversation, and he waved to show that they would be quiet, and they did. It starts with two beautiful girls, and the typical phone call, scary voice, and wandering about an expensive house in a quiet, night-time suburb. Horror Movies were always funded by parents bank accounts. It was easy to want to see those who were getting getting some or getting rich get slaughtered he supposed. He was neither, and he hope that made him safe. These two girls were killed quickly one to pull out a pun of another couple watching and then one getting stabbed. This in itself made Melvin want to groan and rub his temples. It was a very stupid trick, and the fact NO ONE noticed the girl with the massive knife beside her was just a bit too much. Then again, large, perfectly-polished knives were a theme with the series. The terrible situation was enough to make him forget what was behind him, but a real horror always out-did a poorly plotted one.

Hand now rigidly set to stay at one setting as it held to Mia's hand, he stared ahead, but his attention was in the seat behind, and the beginning of the movie with it's summer-time weather and playful sexual tension between friends provided the view of short skirts and the shadow moving in the corner of his eye. A long tongue was moving out of what he could only assume was a mouth, and wiped it's face before sliding back in, and he let out a low whine in the back of his throat. He hadn't been this close to a shadow since he was a child, and knew his lesson better for it. Avoidance was policy, but he never supposed one would just be sitting in a movie theater watching horror sequels. There didn't seem to be any set regulation where they showed up aside from it being dark and somewhat secluded. The alleyways on his way to work. The Laundry room of a college campus late at night. His Grandmother's Attic..... ....an abandoned house......

He breathed deep, feeling his face warm as the blood drained, and he commanded his bladder to lock tight. With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and tried to make out the time in the dark. Turning it on would be a lighthouse beacon to Mia that he was bored right when the movie started, and he didn't want to ruin the impression he was creating. As it was, he just had to remember that most movies ran for about 2 hours. How long had this movie been so far? Probably 15 at the latest as the main title of the movie just went up onto the screen, the current death count being 5 already.

This was going to be a long one.

The movie finally started to establish it's characters, heavy on women with one one possessive ex-boyfriend, a police officer hitting on the sherif, and a slew of other characters with questionable sanity or otherwise boosting model-worthy good looks. It wasn't bad if you only wanted to mute and look, but unfortunately he was in surround sound and forced into the tight spot of watching through. Any other movie he could probably close his eyes and hope that Mia was more invested in the movie to look his way, but they were out together as a couple, and he wanted to be there in case she grabbed him or wanted to take a moment during a low point in the movie (though the entire thing was a low point in his opinion) to make out. He had a Listerine strip pack easily assessable in his pocket just in case.

Then came the crunching. At first he thought Mia was a loud eater, but he glanced to see the lights catch her wide eyes, glad to see that she wasn't eating at all, which meant no point deductions for being a loud eater but then again she looked very interested in the movie so he had to subtract some taste points there. That didn't answer the noise, and looking about, as much as he didn't want to, he glanced over to see the shadow - eating popcorn.

How the hell a shadow even got popcorn was beyond him. He couldn't imagine it walking up to the counter and ordering, and that lead him to believe it was eating OLD popcorn used from someone else that had left it behind during the previous viewing. Used, stale, already-touched popcorn from slobbery fingers from some questionable character who might not even be the type to wash their hands after going to the bathroom - and it was eating it. He felt ill just thinking about it, and even worse it kept munching away happily as if it was fresh.

Disgusting. Not only was in here watching a horrible movie as if it actually BELONGED here, but it was eating THEIR food like some beggar and ruining his night.

His fingers gripped the armrest as the other held to Mia, glared back ahead of him. He'd watch this damn movie. He'd watch it, and he'd make it a NORMAL night with her.

She reached over to pat his hand, noticing the touch, and Melvin told himself to be more gentle. If she felt he was the aggressive sort, it would put up warning flags. Delicately, he said, and he loosened his grip before smiling to her, catching sight of the shadow still eating behind them.

She smiled with him, and turning, he placed a Listerine strip in his mouth, waiting for it to dissolve enough not to be noticeable, but enough that he could kiss her without squirming to any popcorn leftovers. Turning, he leaned in, and smiling, he kissed him. During the illogical amounts of bloods and startup of a new slew of killings during an anniversary of the past killings, he started to make out with her, and they kissed a few times before they both sat back into place, satisfied for the moment. His eyes glanced at a few other couples spending less time on the movie and more time climbing each other, and he glanced to Mia a moment. No. doing that sort of thing in such a disgusting setting with THAT watching was just a turnoff, and he continued watching.

He just had to ignore the creature, and focus.

The hacking started up behind him, and with each Haa-ack! the shadow gave, Melvin jumped. The violins started up around him, climbing higher.

The author's manager raced through the parking lot, leaving the safety of her car to the nearest exit. Possibly she hoped to escape the movie as much as he did. Still, why leave a car that was knife proof to run for an exit? Did she too feel that staying in such a confined place to share company with some freak just as unbearable?

Ha--ACK!

He-

HUrr -

Ha- OFF!

He felt popcorn hit the back of his neck and shot up, gripping Mia's arm as he rose with a shriek that was most unflattering for his gender, making a few people scream out in surprise just as the woman was stabbed.

Melvin had been hit!

++++++++++


Melvin left the men's bathroom, having gone in pale and now leaving flushed. Having washed his neck several times, he couldn't help feel a chill and then a strong sense of anger at having his date ruined. he had half a mind to storm the theater, but didn't want to show his face in there again.

Unfortunetly, he still had to face Mia, who offered him a sweet, concerned smile as he walked out into the lobby to meet her.

"Sorry about that. I guess I'm a bit jumpy." He had a slew of sci-fi movies under his belt sporting scientiests' heads exploding in space and explorers being torn and devoured by alien life-forms, and he had to admit to her that he was 'jumpy' at something as downright un-creative as a guy in a mask stabbing a girl in a parking garage.

"It's okay. I think it's cute." (Melvin wanted to cringe at the word cute. Cute meant you were like a neutered cat, with no future of getting laid.)

"I don't usually get like that. I've seen plenty of movies before." He tried to somehow salvage his man rep as best he could, but soon found a perfectly manicured hand upon his shoulder.

"It's okay. I like a man who isn't afraid to be scared." Scared. If he was approving of that, then would she dismiss all the other times he would freak out?

"Do you want to just go and get something to eat?" She asked, and his stomach turned at the thought.

No. He had to do this, and he took her hand in his. "No. Let's finish your movie. Just.....let me pick the seat."


((Word Count: 2,70 cool )